Passage 5 幸福是一种选择 Happiness Is a Choice

Step 1 阅读行不行

I recently overheard something that surprised me. I heard that people who win the lottery are happy for about 3 weeks. Yes! Only 3 weeks, and then they go back to their previous1 state of being, before they won the money. This really did surprise me. I thought that they would have been happy about something so amazing as that for much longer than 3 weeks.

Did you know that 90% of all people who win the lottery are broke within one year, and that most of those wish they had never won it in the first place?

I think the reason for this is that anytime we try to change how we feel by using something outside of ourselves, like winning the lottery, or getting a new car or house, it never works. The resulting feelings of euphoria2 are often only fleeting3 . We cannot sustain4 them for very long. Perhaps, in some way, that is a good thing. It reminds us that happiness really does come from within and is available to us at any moment. True happiness has very little to do with what is happening on the outside, it is an inside job. Happiness is a choice. It is a state of BEING.

We can make the decision to BE happy for one day, when we wake up in the morning, every morning. We can find something that brings us great pleasure, like sitting outside in the garden under an old tree and listening to the birds sing, or watching the dog or cat play, and just savoring5 the moment. Happiness is always available to us. It is our natural state and we need only allow it in. At any moment, we can stop, take a deep breath, and remember who we really are, and why we came here, and that truly is to experience joy and the aliveness of being.

“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight6 upon you.” —Nathaniel Hawthorne

So, dear heart, today, no matter what is going on in your own life, take a few moments to breathe deeply and just decide to BE happy, whatever that means to you.

keywords and phrases

1 previous /ˈpri:vɪəs/ adj. 以前的；早先的

2 euphoria /ju:ˈfɔ:rɪə/ n. 精神欢快；幸福感

3 fleeting /ˈfli:tɪŋ/ adj. 疾驰的，飞逝的；短暂的

4 sustain /səˈsteɪn/ vt. 使持续；保持，维持

5 savor /'seɪvə/ vt. 使有风味；品尝；欣赏

6 alight /əˈlaɪt/ vi. 下来；飞落

phrase to know

take a deep breath 表示“深呼吸”。breath这个词构成很多常用的短语，如：get a breath of fresh air（透透气）; hold your breath（屏气）。而take one's breath away从字面上看，表示“带走了某人的呼吸”，而实际上它的意思是“令人惊叹”，例如：Standing on the top of the mountain, we felt that the fine view took our breath away. 表示“站在山顶上，美丽的景色令我们惊叹”！

no matter what 表示“不管什么，无论什么”。短语no matter可以独立成句，如：No matter, I'll go by myself. 表示“不碍事，我自个儿去”。no matter还可用作连词词组，作“不管，无论”讲，后常接what / who / when等词，引导让步状语从句，如：Don't open the door, no matter who comes. 表示“不管谁来都别开门”。

Step 2 手写行不行

★ 他有三次诈骗前科。(previous)

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★ 获得第二块金牌后，他们一直处于狂喜之中。(in a state of )

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★ 我们匆匆参观了故宫。(pay a visit to)

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★ 可以维持生命的行星很少。(sustain)

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★ 她细品每一口食物。(savor)

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★ 一只蝴蝶落在松枝上。(alight on)

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Step 3 口语行不行

Q1 What is happiness？幸福是什么？

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Q2 How can we be happy？怎样才能幸福？

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试题解答篇

Step 2 手写行不行答案

1．He has three previous convictions for fraud.

2．They were in a state of euphoria after they earned their second gold medal.

3．We paid a fleeting visit to the Palace Museum.

4．Few planets can sustain life.

5．She savored each bite of the food.

6．A butterfly alighted on a branch of the pine tree.

Step 3 口语行不行答案

1．For people who live in peaceful and stable life, happiness is the smiling face of sons and daughters at the first sight when open the door. For a long-distance traveler, happiness is the only tree in the vast desert; is the small spring appeared when water is the only thing he needs desperately. In the view of farmers, happiness is the harvest after a sweet season, but those who make happiness a complex will never truly understand what happiness is.

2．We should be contented with what we have. Don't feed the mind with desires. Be positive and always be grateful with what we are given at any moment. We will then be free from troubles. Life without worries is true happiness.